DryShips Goes Red

DryShips (Nasdaq: DRYS  ) reported earnings yesterday. Here are the numbers you need to know.

The 10-second takeaway
For the quarter ended Dec. 31 (Q4), DryShips beat expectations on revenues and whiffed on earnings per share.

Compared to the prior-year quarter, revenue expanded significantly and GAAP earnings per share dropped to a loss.

Margins shrank across the board.

Revenue details
DryShips logged revenue of $328.2 million. The five analysts polled by S&P Capital IQ wanted to see revenue of $293.4 million on the same basis. GAAP reported sales were 52% higher than the prior-year quarter's $215.8 million.

Source: S&P Capital IQ. Quarterly periods. Dollar amounts in millions. Non-GAAP figures may vary to maintain comparability with estimates.

EPS details
Non-GAAP EPS came in at $0.05. The eight earnings estimates compiled by S&P Capital IQ predicted $0.07 per share on the same basis. GAAP EPS were -$0.02 for Q4 compared to $0.38 per share for the prior-year quarter.

Source: S&P Capital IQ. Quarterly periods. Non-GAAP figures may vary to maintain comparability with estimates.

Margin details
For the quarter, gross margin was 62.0%, 1,090 basis points worse than the prior-year quarter. Operating margin was 25.5%, 1,290 basis points worse than the prior-year quarter. Net margin was -1.9%, 5,930 basis points worse than the prior-year quarter.

Looking ahead
Next quarter's average estimate for revenue is $354.3 million. On the bottom line, the average EPS estimate is $0.15.

Next year's average estimate for revenue is $1.41 billion. The average EPS estimate is $0.53.

Investor sentiment
The stock has a three-star rating (out of five) at Motley Fool CAPS, with 2,978 members out of 3,336 rating the stock outperform, and 358 members rating it underperform. Among 685 CAPS All-Star picks (recommendations by the highest-ranked CAPS members), 568 give DryShips a green thumbs-up, and 117 give it a red thumbs-down.

Of Wall Street recommendations tracked by S&P Capital IQ, the average opinion on DryShips is outperform, with an average price target of $5.02.

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